After the federal government shut down at midnight, the two parties aren't any closer to resolving their impasse.
The Senate voted again on the two funding bills today that it failed to pass last night. One, a clean stopgap measure led by Republicans, failed 55-45, short of the 60 needed to advance. Three members of the Democratic caucus — Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman and Angus King — voted for it while one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul, voted against it. The second, a Democratic-led measure that includes health care provisions, was voted down along party lines.
Here's the latest fallout from the shutdown:
Vought lays down the hammer: White House budget director Russell Vought told House Republicans that the Trump administration will start firing federal employees in the next "one to two" days, according to two GOP sources on the conference call, Melanie Zanona, Julie Tsirkin and Scott Wong report.
Appearing in the White House briefing room, Vice President JD Vance said the administration would not target federal workers for layoffs based on their politics.
Vought also outlined the initial funding cuts the administration would be making, all of which affect blue states.
Adam Edelman and Peter Alexander report that Vought said the administration would freeze $18 billion in infrastructure funding for New York City, where Democratic congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries reside, to ensure it was not going toward "unconstitutional DEI principles." A person familiar with the situation said "a review of contracts awarded under the Biden administration is required" and that "review is also paused because of the Schumer shutdown."
And Vought announced that the administration would cancel "nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding" to 16 states — all of which Kamala Harris carried in the 2024 presidential election.
Blame game: A number of federal agencies are putting out messages blaming Democratic senators for the current government shutdown, in a sharp break from how departments have handled shutdowns in the past, Monica Alba, Laura Strickler and Amanda Terkel report.
Traditionally, agencies provide information on the status of the funding lapse and what services won't be available, but they stay away from partisan talking points.
Fact check: Republicans are centering their shutdown message on a simple argument: "Democrats are grinding America to a halt in order to give illegal immigrants free health care."
But as Sahil Kapur, Hallie Jackson, Kyle Stewart and Gabe Gutierrez report, that claim is highly misleading.
The Democratic bill would not change existing law barring people who are in the U.S. illegally from getting federal health care coverage. The dispute centers around immigrants whom the federal government has decreed as "lawfully present," but who haven't formally been given legal status that is enforceable in court.
On the campaign trail: The shutdown is threatening to upend this fall's race for governor in Virginia, home to a wide swath of federal workers, Adam Edelman and Bridget Bowman report.
Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee who has led in the polls, told NBC News in a statement that the shutdown would hurt Virginia's economy, blaming Trump and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican nominee, for the coming damage and connecting the impact of closing the government to that of cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency this year.
Earle-Sears has sought to place the blame on Democrats, saying in an interview yesterday on "Meet the Press NOW" that Spanberger should have urged Virginia's two Democratic senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, to agree to Republicans' funding deal.
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